This paper reviews the performance of the euro area since the euro's launch 20 years ago. It argues that the euro … crisis has exposed existential flaws in the euro regime. Intra-area divergences and the corresponding buildup of imbalances … extremely vulnerable to systemic banking problems and abruptly deteriorating public finances. Debt legacies and high …

This paper investigates the causes behind the euro debt crisis, particularly Germany's role in it. It is argued that … the crisis is not primarily a "sovereign debt crisis" but rather a (twin) banking and balance of payments crisis. Intra …-area competitiveness and current account imbalances, and the corresponding debt flows that such imbalances give rise to, are at the heart …